Sonos Rumored to Be Planning Voice-Controlled Smart Speaker Similar to HomePod and Echo [Updated]

[MacRumors]

Sonos is gearing up to launch an all-new smart speaker that includes voice control functionality fueled by far-field microphones, picking up on user commands from anywhere in a room. The information was discovered in a filing with the FCC (via Zatz Not Funny), and hints that Sonos could be yet another company planning to enter the smart speaker market, following Amazon, Google, and Apple this December with HomePod.

The Sonos speaker will support "multiple voice platforms and music services," but the filing didn't specify which assistants and services that might be. Sonos has recently been gearing up for a wide integration with Amazon Echo, so Alexa could be a possibility. Sonos products are sold at Apple's retail and online stores, but that's not exactly an indication that a new Sonos voice-enabled speaker would include Siri support, especially since such a high-end music speaker would be a direct competitor to HomePod come December.

HomePod's various Apple Music commands​

Zatz Not Funny theorized that the FCC filing hints at a "refresh of their [Sonos's] entire speaker line," as well as a touch surface or button of some kind to activate the voice assistant. Otherwise, the report is heavily redacted, leaving details sparse. The snippet referencing the new Sonos speaker reads as follows:

The EUT is 802.11 a/b/g/n (HT20) Client Device. Product model S13 is a high-performance all-in-one wireless smart speaker and part of Sonos' home sound system. S13 adds integrated voice control functionality with far field microphones. Moreover, the device will support multiple voice platforms and music services, allowing customers to effortlessly control their music on Sonos.

A Variety report earlier in August suggested a similar product might be launching from Sonos soon, with changes to the company's privacy policy appearing to lay the groundwork for an internet-connected, voice assistant speaker of some kind. A private beta test is currently underway for users to test controlling Sonos speakers through Amazon Echo devices, but a Sonos spokesperson confirmed to Variety that its privacy policy now covers "future voice experiences" on its own unreleased products that will have "integrated microphones."

An image of the Sonos voice speaker's control panel, including a microphone icon​

According to this policy, the unannounced Sonos speaker will continuously monitor the ambient noise of a home for command terminology spoken by the user, "without retaining or transmitting any voice recordings." The device will notify the user that it is recording thanks to a "visual indicator such as a light on the Product."

If Sonos does enter the smart speaker market, it'll be at a busy time for new voice-controlled home speakers. Amazon is rumored to be working on an Echo successor that would more directly compete with Apple's HomePod. Because Apple billed the HomePod as a high-quality music playback device first and foremost, sources close to Amazon's product development have mentioned that the company is focusing on significantly improving the Echo's sound quality, as well as enhancing its far-field voice technology.

Update 8/29: Sonos has sent out media invitations for an event on October 4. The invite includes artwork related to a mouth, hinting that the company's voice-controlled smart speaker could debut at that time.

Article Link: Sonos Rumored to Be Planning Voice-Controlled Smart Speaker Similar to HomePod and Echo [Updated]

 

[blevins321]

Eventually customers are going to realize that the money to be made here by companies is selling your conversation statistics to advertisers.

 

[MrX8503]

Sonos has always felt half baked to me. I waited 5 years for Sonos to get their act together and to release something truly compelling. I'm glad I never bought into the Sonos ecosystem and I'll be buying the HomePod on day 1.

 

[BeefCake 15]

Why not, let everyone jump in!

 

[nuckinfutz]

Voice control is rapidly becoming a commodity feature.

It's good that Sonos is upgrading their lineup because the Play 1 and 3 are getting really long in the tooth.

 

[boshii]

Sonos has always felt half baked to me. I waited 5 years for Sonos to get their act together and to release something truly compelling. I'm glad I never bought into the Sonos ecosystem and I'll be buying the HomePod on day 1.

What makes it feel half baked to you?

 

[44267547]

I think the HomePod has the advantage here, mainly with it being released first ahead of Sonos. The main competition to the HomePod is Sonos, which they could easily complete with a similar price point and capabilities.

 

[kdarling]

Eventually customers are going to realize that the money to be made here by companies is selling your conversation statistics to advertisers.

All these assistants only start recording when they hear their activation name.

Why not, let everyone jump in!

Many people claim that Apple is going after the Sonos market.

So it makes sense that Sonos would want to protect that market.

 

[Corrode]

I think the HomePod has the advantage here, mainly with it being released first ahead of Sonos. The main competition to the HomePod is Sonos, which they could easily complete with a similar price point and capabilities.

Did you mean to write that Sonos has the advantage here? They've had speakers out for almost a decade.

 

[44267547]

Did you mean to write that Sonos has the advantage here? They've had speakers out for almost a decade.

I'm not referring to speakers alone by Sonos. Sonos doesn't have a smart Speaker as of yet. We are discussing the smart Speaker era for both the HomePod and Future Sonos smart Speaker, which is why I stated the HomePod has the advantage on the market first, assuming the HomePod delivers the experience Apple intends upon.

 

[dannyyankou]

I feel like this will be Apple’s main competition, not the echo

 

[symphony]

Once HomePod comes out, Sonos and Alexa are gone from my home. Except for the play bar since Apple TV will convert it into AirPlay 2.

However Sonos had a chance but decided to not follow thru with Sonos partnering up with Alexa. They announced a whole video about their partnership last year but it never happened. Shame.

 

[jermwhl]

Once HomePod comes out, Sonos and Alexa are gone from my home. Except for the play bar since Apple TV will convert it into AirPlay 2.

However Sonos had a chance but decided to not follow thru with Sonos partnering up with Alexa. They announced a whole video about their partnership last year but it never happened. Shame.

Maybe, just a thought, this is Sonos and Amazon's partnership finally coming to fruition. If Amazon wants to compete with the speaker side of HomePod, this seems like a good partnership. Alexa seems to be much more functional than Siri, from the little experience I have with either of them. But, I haven't really embraced voice control.

 

[lunarworks]

Can someone make me a voice controlled cat? Because mine ignores me.

 

[kdarling]

However Sonos had a chance but decided to not follow thru with Sonos partnering up with Alexa. They announced a whole video about their partnership last year but it never happened. Shame.

It's still possible that Sonos is adding direct Alexa support with this product.

Edit: jermwhl beat me to it.

 

[alembic]

What makes it feel half baked to you?

I wouldn't consider it half-baked because the workflow in version 4.3 "classic/blue" is really implemented well. But the system is constrained by technical debt (albeit for the fringe market). Most notably its file/metadata management is capped at 64K tracks due to limited device memory. I don't use subscription services so this issue has forced me to split my music collection into three libraries. The other thing the system lacks is album shuffle (in 4.3).

For my use case, I don't think a smart speaker system with voice control would benefit me. It has to work with input like "add the album, Love It to Death, by Alice Cooper to the queue". Maybe it's possible if the command syntax was structured like RPN, "artist, Miles Davis, album "Kind of Blue", play now." For classical music, I reckon voice commands would be unreliable.

 

[Corrode]

I'm not referring to speakers alone by Sonos. Sonos doesn't have a smart Speaker as of yet. We are discussing the smart Speaker era for both the HomePod and Future Sonos smart Speaker, which is why I stated the HomePod has the advantage on the market first, assuming the HomePod delivers the experience Apple intends upon.

...but HomePod isn't on the market yet. You don't know that it will be released ahead of Sonos' smart speaker. I'm just confused by your wording.

 

[MrGimper]

It's still possible that Sonos is adding direct Alexa support with this product.

Edit: jermwhl beat me to it.

Isn't Sonos/Alexa integration currently in closed beta? I have 4 sonos play:1 speakers and I have no plans to replace them with HomePod or even purchase a HomePod.

 

[44267547]

...but HomePod isn't on the market yet. You don't know that it will be released ahead of Sonos' smart speaker. I'm just confused by your wording.

Just going based off the article, it says that Sonos is "Planning" to enter the smart speaker era. So it's safe to assume, at least based off the article content, that Sonos will not be releasing a product before the HomePod. Which again, I still think the HomePod has an advantage here in the least in the sense of giving the consumer to focus solely on the HomePod's capabilities and features in December. At least being in the spotlight first.

 

[MrGimper]

Sonos has always felt half baked to me. I waited 5 years for Sonos to get their act together and to release something truly compelling. I'm glad I never bought into the Sonos ecosystem and I'll be buying the HomePod on day 1.

In what way? I'm more than happy with it as a zonal wireless speaker system, which is what it's marketed as.

 

[kdarling]

Isn't Sonos/Alexa integration currently in closed beta? I have 4 sonos play:1 speakers and I have no plans to replace them with HomePod or even purchase a HomePod.

Isn't that beta about controlling Sonos playback via a Dot or Echo?

This latest rumor seems more about actually integrating Alexa into a Sonos device.

 

[MrGimper]

Isn't that beta about controlling Sonos playback via a Dot or Echo?

This latest rumor seems more about actually integrating Alexa into a Sonos device.

Yes, it's controlling Sonos via Alexa.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

What makes it feel half baked to you?

Isn't that obvious? It doesn't have an Apple logo on it.

He putting down a well regarded, well reviewed, long-term established line of products as a group while proclaiming his readiness to buy a product that has not even been objectively reviewed yet from a company that is reaching outside of it's core strengths and leveraging a voice control system consistently frustrating even to the Apple faithful.

But it is going to (automatically) be best (and anything with which it competes is automatically inferior)... because it's coming from Apple. We don't even need to read an objective review. It will be BEST and we will swear to that no matter what.

Makes me recall another recent thread where some guy was arguing that HomePods only real competition was a $40,000 speaker.

 

[MrX8503]

In what way? I'm more than happy with it as a zonal wireless speaker system, which is what it's marketed as.

I've always felt Sonos was overpriced for what it is. HomePod is expensive too, but it has voice assistant and superior sound according to reports. There's also the Apple ecosystem, which works really well for those that prefer Apple services. I own a lot of electronics and I have a lot less headaches when it's tied to Apple.

 

[69Mustang]

Just going based off the article, it says that Sonos is "Planning" to enter the smart speaker era. So it's safe to assume, at least based off the article content, that Sonos will not be releasing a product before the HomePod. Which again, I still think the HomePod has an advantage here in the least in the sense of giving the consumer to focus solely on the HomePod's capabilities and features in December. At least being in the spotlight first.

Depending on how the beta with Alexa has been going, Sonos could release an updated Speaker as soon as next month. They could also update their current speakers to work more closely with current Amazon products. As for the rumored speaker with multiple voice assistant capabilities, the API's for each system is pretty mature. The one hold up could be Siri integration, but that could be added later with an update.

Sonos is going to have the upper hand in my opinion because of ubiquity. It works with all ecosystems and the HomePod, Apple being Apple, will only work inside the garden.